Hootsuite and the EU Digital Services Act
Last updated: February 16, 2024
What is the EU Digital Services Act (DSA)?
The DSA is a legal framework for providers of digital services in the European Union (EU) which is intended to create a safer digital / online world. The DSA creates several key obligations on companies to combat disinformation, illegal goods and content, and cyber violence.
How does the DSA Apply to Hootsuite?
Under the DSA, Hootsuite is required to have a process by which individuals can report illegal and/or infringing content to Hootsuite, as well as underlying processes to validate these reports and, where appropriate, take down the applicable content. Hootsuite is also required to designate a single point of contact for EU individuals and regulators to contact Hootsuite in respect of DSA matters, as well as publish an annual transparency report describing the reporting and takedown of illegal content in the preceding year. These requirements are described further below.
Note that Hootsuite’s acceptable use rules govern what we do and do not allow on Hootsuite, and all Hootsuite customers must comply with them. Our acceptable use rules prohibit material that is illegal, including defamatory content, hate speech, terrorist content and other unlawful content. They also prohibit certain content that, while potentially legal, is not consistent with the intended purpose of our service. If we become aware of content on our service that is illegal or otherwise breaches our acceptable use rules, we will review the content and remove it where appropriate. In such cases, we may also consider deactivating the Hootsuite account of the individual or group that created or uploaded the content.
(i) Reporting Illegal and/or Infringing Content
Hootsuite has established processes for reporting, validating and, where appropriate, taking down content that is believed to be illegal and/or infringing a person’s intellectual property rights.
If there is content on Hootsuite that you believe may be illegal, please report it to Hootsuite by following the instructions on our “Reporting Illegal Content to Hootsuite” page.
If there is content on Hootsuite that you believe infringes a person’s intellectual property, please report it to Hootsuite by following the instructions on our “Hootsuite Copyright Policy” page.
(ii) Single Point of Contact
Under the DSA, Hootsuite is required to designate a single point of contact for EU individuals and regulators (including the European Commission, an EU Member States’ authority or the European Board for Digital Services) to contact Hootsuite in respect of DSA matters.
These parties may contact Hootsuite regarding the DSA at legal@hootsuite.com.
Communications with the above-noted email address should be made in English, but if necessary, we will accommodate communication in another language as required.
(iii) Annual Transparency report
Our first annual transparency report will be published in accordance with the DSA. Our report will include relevant data regarding the reporting, evaluation and takedown of any illegal content in the preceding year, as required under the DSA.